CAPE MAY – At its Tuesday, Jan. 16, meeting, City Council successfully introduced an ordinance that updates municipal policy with respect to the protection of trees in the city, including those in the public right-of-way and on private property.

The ordinance describes which trees are covered by the regulations and who has final say on tree removal. Unless final decisions on removal or replacement of trees are made by the Planning or Zoning boards as part of their review of an application, the determination of the Shade Tree Commission to grant or deny tree removal is binding under the amended ordinance.

Solicitor Christopher Gillin-Schwartz said the ordinance is meant to streamline and clarify the practice. “Not a lot is changing,” Gillin-Schwartz said. The purpose is rather to make clear what the process is that must be followed and to prevent tree removal from being “lost” in the consideration of engineering and other issues in a development application. The update provides a “clearer picture” of process and avenues of appeal, Gillin-Schwartz said.

The ordinance also allows for a tree care specialist to be available to the city for instances when expert advice would be useful.

The ordinance will come up for consideration for adoption at the Tuesday, Feb. 20, council meeting, at which time there will be a required public hearing.

Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.